Nov. 14, 1964 - Alabama’s unbeaten football team struck twice for touchdowns within the space of a minute at the end of the first half and went on to crush Georgia Tech, 24‐7, before a record throng of 53,505 at Grant Field today.
It was the ninth victory of the season and the 11th of a carryover string for the Crimson Tide. The impressiveness of the triumph kept Alabama, ranked second in last week’s news service polls, in the chase for the national title and assured a bowl bid for Coach Bear Bryant’s team.
Alabama has one game left to play, a nationally televised contest with Auburn at Birmingham on Thanksgiving Day.
The chief architects of Alabama’s triumph today were Joe Namath (left with Bryant), David Ray, and Steve Sloan. Namath set up the Tide’s two rapid‐fire touchdowns with pass completions good for 49 and 47 yards.
The sharpshooting Pennsylvanian, used sparingly because of an injured right knee, passed 3 yards to Ray for Alabama’s second touchdown. Ray, in addition, booted a 22‐yard field and three extra points. He thereby broke the National Collegiate one‐season record for points scored by kicking, lifting his total to 58 points.
Sloan, who started and played most of the game at quarterback, was Alabama’s prime mover in second‐half drives of 57 and 92 yards that led to Ray’s field goal and a touchdown by Steve Bowman.
Georgia Tech, previously unable to penetrate inside Alabama’s 30‐yard line, scored with 21 seconds left on the clock. The tally, at the end of a 13‐play march covering 69 yards, was the product of a 5-yard pass from Jerry Priestley to Giles Smith.
Alabama’s squad, described by Bryant before the game as “my fuzzy‐faced kids,” played a rugged brand of football today. Afterward, their coach paid tribute to their demonstrated maturity by saying:
“This convinces me that this is a great football team. Any time you win out there on Grant Field, you can rest assured they’re pretty good.”
Coach Bobby Dodd of Georgia Tech responded: “Bear couldn’t have paid us a bigger compliment than that.”
Dodd said it would be difficult to compare this Alabama team with the great 1961 team which won the national championship.
“The 1961 team had better linebackers led by Leroy Jordan, and probably a better set of running backs,” he said. “But this team has the best blocking in its offensive line that I’ve seen in a long time.
“It’s a shame that Alabama and Notre Dame probably won’t get together in a bowl game. I think that would be a terrific match.”
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